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| Mobility scooter death: Lee Byer admits killing Thomas O'Halloran | Mobility scooter death: Lee Byer admits killing Thomas O'Halloran |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Thomas O'Halloran was regarded as a much-loved member of the community | |
| A man has admitted killing an elderly mobility scooter rider in a "motiveless" knife attack five days after being released from prison. | |
| Lee Byer, 46, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter by diminished responsibility of Thomas O'Halloran, in Greenford, west London, in August 2022. | Lee Byer, 46, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter by diminished responsibility of Thomas O'Halloran, in Greenford, west London, in August 2022. |
| A group of children, one of whom called 999, tried to help the 87-year-old but he could not be saved. | |
| A post-mortem examination found he was stabbed in the neck, chest and abdomen. | A post-mortem examination found he was stabbed in the neck, chest and abdomen. |
| Police believe Mr O'Halloran, who had been playing his accordion near a supermarket, was attacked on 16 August as he passed Byer in an alleyway alongside the A40, out of sight of drivers. | |
| Senior officers described it as a "shocking act of unprovoked violence". Byer was captured on CCTV running off and was arrested at home nearby. | |
| Mr O'Halloran was pronounced dead at 16:54 BST on 16 August 2022 | |
| Grandfather Mr O'Halloran was originally from County Clare in western Ireland and had been well known in the local community. | |
| Mr O'Halloran was said to be a passionate musician and described as "very popular" in Greenford, often busking for charity. | |
| It can now be reported that Byer had 15 previous convictions for 30 offences dating back to when he was 14 and days earlier had been released from Wormwood Scrubs. | |
| In 2011, he was convicted of robbery and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. | |
| Byer also admitted having an offensive weapon on the day of Mr O'Halloran's killing. | |
| Prosecutor Gareth Patterson KC accepted the pleas after mental health reports found Byer was psychotic, hearing voices, suffering from paranoid delusions and paranoid schizophrenia. | |
| He said the defendant's mental state provided an explanation for what was a "motiveless attack". | |
| Byer, of no fixed address, is currently being held at Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital and is due to be sentenced on 10 May. | Byer, of no fixed address, is currently being held at Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital and is due to be sentenced on 10 May. |
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| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Greenford | Greenford |
| London violence | London violence |
| London | London |
| Ealing |